Basketball nets serve many purposes. The primary one is to catch and slow down the basketball after a goal is made. This saves the players and officials a great deal of effort and time that would otherwise be expended in chasing the ball and allows the game to play at a faster pace.
A very important secondary purpose of a basketball net, particularly in situations involving competitive play without the benefit of formal officiating, is to signify that a goal has actually been made. Indeed, the sound of a basketball passing through the net is one of the most satisfying in sports, described with such phrases as “nothing but the bottom of the net”, “nothing but nylon”, and “swish.”
However, the basketball nets currently in use leave much to be desired. For one thing, the sound of a basketball hitting against the outside of the net can be very close, if not indistinguishable, from that of a basketball going through the net. For another, as the nylon cord that comprises the net ages, it becomes weaker, thereby diminishing the sound emitted when a basketball passes through. This wear and tear is particularly apparent at the bottom of the net, where the basketballs exert the most contact force as they pass through the net. To ensure that the net continues to make a sound as the ball passes through it, it is necessary to purchase additional nets and spend the time installing them, which is both costly and time consuming. The alternative, to not use a net at all, is even less appealing for most basketball players.
There are examples in the prior art which teach basketball nets with enhanced sound making abilities. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,928 to Hsieh shows a net with a sensing body which triggers an audio-photo element, producing an audio-photo effect when the ball passes through the net. While such nets do provide enhanced sound making abilities, they rely on electronics, thus making the cost of the nets more expensive and raising issues of damage to the electronics from the impact of the ball, for example.
Thus, there exists a need for an economical basketball net with enhanced sound making ability which does not rely on electronic sensors or devices.